After an attack on Riverwood, a Skyrim player honors the bravery of Alvor, Riverwood's blacksmith trader, by giving him a burial befitting the NPC who forges weapons. With The Elder Scrolls 6 still some distance away, fans are keeping themselves busy in Bethesda's 2011 epic RPG. It doesn't seem to matter how long the game has been out or how many times it's been ported and re-released, there will always be people who find something to do in this snowy province.
While it's not the biggest Elder Scrolls game in terms of map size — that title goes to Daggerfall officially — Skyrim is definitely the most successful. After more than 11 years, this installment in the long-running fantasy series is not showing any signs of slowing down just yet. True that the visuals have aged, the game is often the butt of jokes thanks to a myriad of glitches, and many are now waiting impatiently for the next entry, but it's still going strong. What helps keep it in the limelight are the adventures and unique ways of playing that fans have come up with.
One example of this comes from Reddit user TheWarriorNaxx, who decided to honor the life of one of the first NPCs that most players come across in Skyrim after the opening dungeon section. In an image uploaded to the site, Alvor of Riverwood can be seen lying inside atop a forge, his clothes removed, with the title of the post saying that the user has given him a "befitting funeral." Further down in the comments, TheWarriorNaxx says a blood dragon attacked the small settlement and Alvor bravely entered combat. Sadly, the gruff blacksmith succumbed to the attack before the Dragonborn could step in to save the day.
Riverwood is usually the first Skyrim settlement players encounter, which makes it special in many people's eyes. It might not be as large as nearby Whiterun or as impressive like Markarth in terms of its structure, but it still has a host of NPCs who, after the beginning section at Helgen, leave a lasting impression on those playing the game for the first time.
With the amount of platforms that Skyrim has been ported to, it's not surprising that TES5 is as widely played as it is. Most would likely agree that it's time to move on to the next entry in the franchise, but until Bethesda gives any indication of when The Elder Scrolls 6 will see the light of day, fans will keep milling about in Skyrim and looking for interesting ways to have adventures.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is available for PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.